Juice, probiotic foods cut the risk for UTIs

Fruit juice, especially juice made from berries, and probiotic
dairy products could help prevent women from getting recurring
urinary tract infections, says a team of Finnish researchers.

Fruit juice, especially juice made from berries, and probiotic
dairy products could help prevent women from getting recurring
urinary tract infections, says a team of Finnish researchers.

The team from the University of Oulu, Finland studied dietary
and other risk factors for UTI in fertile women. They compared 139
women, aged on average 31 years old, and diagnosed with acute UTI
to 185 age-matched women with no episodes of UTIs during the past
five years. Data on the women's dietary and other lifestyle habits
were collected by questionnaires.

Frequent consumption of fresh juices, especially berry juices,
and fermented milk products containing probiotic bacteria was
associated with a decreased risk of recurrence of UTI, reported the
researchers in this month's American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition​.

Risk of UTI was reduced by 34 per cent for those drinking a
glass of juice daily, and women who often drank berry juice could
reduce the risk further by more than 70 per cent. Cranberry juice
has in previous research been shown to benefit urinary health.

Women who ate fermented milk products such as cheese or yoghurt
containing probiotic bacteria three times a week were around 80 per
cent less likely to have a recurring infection than those eating
these foods less than once a week.

"Dietary habits seem to be an important risk factor for UTI
recurrence in fertile women, and dietary guidance could be a first
step toward prevention,"​ concluded the researchers.

They explained that urinary tract infections are caused by
bacteria in the stool and foods that alter the properties of the
fecal bacterial flora may be able to reduce the risk of the
disease. Antioxidants in fruit are also thought to play a role in
fighting disease.